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Buenos dias. Bonjour. Ni Hao Ma.

During the adventure students will be using Web Sites and Databases

to find information about one of the following countries

Click the airplane logo below to go to Web Links about each country.

Rationale
This particular unit stems from a preexisting program currently being implemented in the Niskayuna School District in New York.  The multimedia program is entitled Many Places, Friendly Faces, and focuses exploration on nine countries around the world.  The need for the development of this learning experience is two fold.  First, it is a necessity.  With the development of new technology, the CD ROM database and program is no longer compatible with newer systems that are currently used at the school.  Teachers use this CD ROM, and subsequent research projects as a main ITEM of the Social Studies curriculum for a majority of the school year.  The information provided in the CD ROM is so varied and interesting, it is necessary to replace it with as much relevant and up to date information as possible.  Secondly, the inclusion and addition of the multidisciplinary aspects of this unit enhance the instruction of Social Studies curriculum at the third grade level. In the unit plan that is not being implemented at Birchwood Elementary, but that was developed for student use, the next step would be for students to begin a Research Project based on the concepts of the Big Six Research Model. Here, students will be preparing for a foreign exchange experience to a country of their choice. They will be required to research aspects of the country that they feel are important for a month long visit.

Connection to Standards
In New York States’ Core Curriculum for Social Studies, students in grade three explore Communities Around the World.  By the end of third grade, students should have exposure to: “social, political, geographic, economic and historic characteristics of different world communities” (pg 7).

This specific curriculum project explores many of the content understandings:

• How and why do cultures change?
• Where do people settle and live? Why?
• People in world communities exchange elements of their cultures.
• World communities have social, political, economic, and cultural similarities and differences.
• Families in world communities differ from place to place
• Beliefs, customs, and traditions in world communities are learned from others and may differ from place to place.
• Different events, people, problems, and ideas make up world communities.
• People in world communities may have different interpretations and perspectives about important issues and historic events.
• The physical, human, and cultural characteristics of different regions and people throughout the world are different.
• The factors that influence human settlements differ in world communities.
• People living in world communities depend on and modify their physical environments in different ways.
• Lifestyles in world communities are influenced by environmental and geographic factors.
• Humans needs and wants differ from place to place
• People in world communities make choices due to unlimited needs and wants and limited resources.
• People in world communities celebrate various holidays and festivals
• The processes of selecting leaders, solving problems and making decisions differ in world communities.

These fall under broad concepts and themes:

• Culture
• Empathy
• Change
• Identity
• Places and Regions
• Human Systems
• Environment and Society
• Needs and Wants
• Citizenship and Civic Life
• Nation State
• Civic Values
• Government
• Decision Making

In combining technology skills, with ELA information and understanding skills, Social Studies curriculum comes alive, as students read, listen, watch, and discuss the differences and similarities of the world.  New York States’ Core Curriculum for English Language Arts calls for students in grade three to:

Standard One Reading:

• locate and use library media resources to acquire information, with assistance
• identify main ideas and supporting details in informational texts, 
• recognize and use organizational features (toc, index etc),
• compare and contrast info on one topic from two different sources,
• identify and interpret facts taken from maps, graphs, charts and other visuals.

Standard Three:

• Analyze information on the basis of new or prior knowledge and/or personal experience
• Judge accuracy of content to gather facts, with assistance from teachers and parents/caregivers

Standard One Writing:

• Use at least two sources of information in writing a report
• Take notes to record data, facts, and ideas, following a teacher direction
• State a main idea and support it with facts and details
• Use organizational patterns such as compare/contrast and time/order for expository writing
• Produce clear, well-organized reports and accounts that demonstrate understanding of a topic

Standard Three:

• Use a variety of prewriting tools to organize ideas and information
• Use ideas from two sources of information to generalize about causes, effects, or other relationships.

Standard One Listening:

• Acquire information and/or understand procedures
• Identify essential details
• Collect information

Standard One Speaking:

• Present a short oral report, using at least two sources of information, such as a person, book, magazine article, or electronic text
• Use complete sentences, using age- and content-appropriate vocabulary
• Use logical order in presentations

Students are also meeting New York Sate Standards for Technology:

Standard Two: Analysis, Inquiry and Design with a key idea that information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information and as a tool to enhance learning.

Standard Five: Technology Education, students use computers, as tools for design, modeling, information processing, communication, and system control, and have greatly increased human productivity and knowledge.

The standards that have been developed by the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) that are met are:

• Standard One: accessing information efficiently and effectively
• Standard Two: evaluating information critically and competently
• Standard Three: using information accurately and creatively.

About the Author
Jamie Gillham developed this website while at an internship experience at Birchwood Elementary School in the Niskayuna School District. This Learning Expereince (Curriculum Project) helped fulfill not only the needs of third grade teachers at Birchwood Elementary, but also for a course Jamie was taking on Curriculum and Instruction while at the University at Albany.

Click the image below to email her with any questions or comments.

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